Hoh Rainforest

My dad found this interesting lichen specimen when we stopped at the visitor center before hiking the mysterious Hoh Rainforest. Thought I'd share.

There are few words for such an extraordinary place, but there are lots of pictures! Enjoy.

Marymere Falls on Lake Crescent

After leaving Hurricane Ridge, we continued west on our drive around Olympic National Park until we reached our next stop at Lake Crescent.

A hike nearby gave us a preview of the rainforest ecosystem we'd be seeing when we went on to Hoh Rainforest, and also catch glimpse of a beautiful waterfall a short distance away.

My dad found mysterious large leaves we have yet to identify.

The falls less than a mile away made a stunning backdrop for photos.

And this is during the tail end of dry season!

Next stop, Hoh Rainforest.

Outside My Window

Autumn is behind in California but just beginning in Washington.

It's the evergreen state, for sure, but dramatic splashes of color are showing up. Along with the mighty Mount Rainier, which I'm seeing out my window for the first time.

Outside Olympic National Park, the trees are ablaze.

Mount Saint Helens or Bust

After cruising along the Columbia River Gorge and heading into Washington state on our way to my aunt and uncle's house, a mysterious mountain loomed ahead.

Actually, we had to exit and drive a ways first, but then we saw it ... Mount Saint Helens, the stuff from geology class made of legends from the 80s.

It's been over 30 years, and the treeline is still barely starting to recover from the famous volcanic blast.

Here you can see the once snow-capped mountain that blew its top in a nine hour stew of gases and ash. Well, the build up to it lasted much longer, as you can imagine.

Eight foot diameter trees were snapped off their roots and the sound barrier was smothered for 30 miles around. My uncle remembers his apple farm getting covered in ash over 100 miles away, and a visitor from Ohio told me that ash snowed into her pool from that fateful day.

That's one mountain I think I'll skip climbing.